Just Say “Hell NO!” To More Unfair Free Trade Deals
It looks like the House Democratic leadership simply did not get the message in the last election. Working Americans want no part of more falsely named “free trade” deals. This is absolutely not an issue where grassroots Democrats want our elected representatives compromising with the Republicans. We want an immediate change in direction concerning trade policy. Democratic members of Congress will face primary challengers if they go along with the rape of the American economy by Corporate forces. Our nation has lost over 3 million manufacturing jobs since Bush seized control of the White House. This mania for “free trade” agreements is lowering wage levels for most citizens. Only the economic elites running corporations are seeing economic benefits. They are profiting obscenely by intentionally gutting the economic health of the nation. They are intentionally destroying the American middle class.

The End of the World As We Know It?
There aren't many tyrants in history who can truthfully say they put the entire future of civilization at risk just to make a buck -- but Dick Cheney can.

Bechtel Takes a Hit for War Profiteering
Government auditors who canceled Bechtel's $50 million contract will soon find reasons to cancel the company's $2.85 billion in Iraq contracts. A comprehensive U.S. government audit of a Bechtel project in Iraq has exposed gross mismanagement by the company.

Bush's Petro-Cartel Almost Has Iraq's Oil
With 140,000 U.S. troops on the ground, the largest U.S. embassy in the world sequestered in Baghdad's fortified "Green Zone" and an economy designed by a consulting firm in McLean, Va., post-invasion Iraq was well on its way to becoming a bonanza for foreign investors. But Big Oil had its sights set on a specific arrangement -- the lucrative production sharing agreements that lock in multinationals' control for long terms and are virtually unheard of in countries as rich in easily accessible oil as Iraq.

[Follow the Money] Bush's Brother Neil To Make Millions Off His Brother's "No Child Left Behind" Act...
Across the country, some teachers complain that President George W. Bush's makeover of public education promotes "teaching to the test." The President's younger brother Neil takes a different tack: He's selling to the test. The No Child Left Behind Act compels schools to prove students' mastery of certain facts by means of standardized exams. Pressure to perform has energized the $1.9 billion-a-year instructional software industry.

Petro Profits Pour in at BP
Profits are pouring in at the BP Group. At the same time, the company announced a profit of $7.27 billion in the second quarter, 30 percent more than the comparable period a year ago and the equivalent of more than $55,000 a minute. Sky-high crude oil prices are the main reason BP’s coffers are overflowing, and analysts expect a string of similarly robust figures from the other global oil giants as they report their second-quarter results in the next few days, which will probably prompt a new round of calls by politicians to impose windfall profits taxes on the industry.

We Have Created the World’s First Truly Global Empire
John Perkins, author of "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man," joins us in our firehouse studio to talk about his former work going into various countries to try to strongarm leaders into creating policy favorable to the U.S government and corporations. Perkins describes himself as an economic hit man.

World Bank Approves Ghana Water Privatization Loan
In an unprecedented slippery move, the World Bank approved a $103 million dollar loan for the privatization of Ghana's urban water system, 2 months before the projected Board date. Despite three years of active civil society opposition to the water privatization scheme, the World Bank has continued to push forward with the plan. At least four major multinational companies have expressed interest in bidding for the contract: Biwater, Suez, Vivendi (now called Veolia) and Saur. While the World Bank has approved the loan, the Ghanaian government has still not formally opened the bidding process. The Ghana National Coalition Against the Privatisation of Water says that resistance to the privatization of water will continue and the ultimate objective is clear: we must ensure that access to potable water is available to all and guaranteed as a human right.

As WTO giants bicker on food aid, thousands die: UN
Europe and the United States should be throwing their efforts into increasing food aid instead of arguing about the form it takes, a top U.N. food aid official said on Friday. A long-simmering row between Washington and Brussels boiled over at a trade meeting in Hong Kong this week, with ministers exchanging barbed comments about whether humanitarian aid should be in the form of commodities or cash. "What is disgraceful and outrageous is that 18,000 children die of hunger every day, every one of them a preventable death. That's what the controversy should be about," said John Powell, deputy executive director of the United Nations' World Food Programme. "We need more food and more cash," he told reporters.

Biology Prof. Resigns Over Gvt. Use of Plant Research We speak Dr. Martha Crouch, a former biology professor at the University of Indiana. She ran a lab dedicated to cutting edge plant research but decided to end her career when she found out that biotechnology companies were co-opting her research for profit.

Wolfowitz To Rule the World (Bank)
First George W. Bush picks UN-basher John Bolton to be ambassador to the United Nations. Then he nominates Karen Hughes, a champion spinner who has little foreign policy experience, to be under secretary of state in charge of enhancing the United States' image abroad. Next, Bush taps Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz to run the World Bank. The Wolfowitz nomination is a loss for the world. Wolfowitz's achievements as a warmonger may say little about his views on international development, but his record on Iraq is one of miscalculation and exaggeration. And the poor of the world deserve a World Bank president with better judgment. A leading neocon, Wolfowitz was a chief cheerleader for the war in Iraq--even before 9/11. In the first months of the Bush administration, Wolfowitz advocated toppling Saddam Hussein by sending in US troops to seize Iraq's oil fields and establish a foothold. Then, according to Wolfowitz, the rest of the country would rise up against Hussein. As Bob Woodward reported, then-Secreatry of State Colin Powell called this idea "lunacy."

Halliburton Could Get $1.5bn More Iraq Work
26 February 2005— Halliburton, under scrutiny for its contracts in Iraq, would receive an extra $1.5 billion as part of the Bush administration's additional war spending proposal for fiscal 2005, a senior US Army budget official said. Halliburton, once led by Vice-President Dick Cheney, is the largest corporate contractor in Iraq and has drawn fire for its no-bid contracts there, with auditors charging its Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR) unit overcharged for some work.

Halliburton: $9.6 Billion in Iraq So Far
25 February 2005— Halliburton's logistics contract with the U.S. Army in Iraq has been worth at least $9.6 billion since the start of the war and is mounting at a cost of about $6 billion a year, according to Army documents and officials. The company, headed by Vice President Dick Cheney for five years prior to his election in 2000, has been paid $6.6 billion for its work so far, with another $3 billion in payments pending completion of the work, said Dan Carlson, spokesman for Army Field Support Command, Rock Island, Ill..

Army Gives Halliburton $9.4 Million in Bonuses
25 February 2005—Halliburton Co. received $9.4 million in bonuses for its work in Kuwait and Afghanistan, the Army said Thursday. Some government departments have launched investigations of Halliburton's work in Iraq, including an inquiry on whether it overcharged to supply fuel to Iraqi civilians.

World Bank Undermines Efforts on Global Warming
The World Bank recently met to consider continued support for development of new sources of fossil fuels, the primary cause of the climatic disruption. It decided to continue support in the interest of offering succor to those less developed nations that might sell oil or coal or gas into the world markets. The action calls attention once again to the growing discrepancy between what the scientific community is saying about the state of the world and what the political and economic communities are willing to hear. The fact is that the environment is being changed in ways that destroy its life-supporting capacities. Immediate effective steps must be taken to stop the erosion.

Lockdown on Sea Island
The body bags have been shipped in, locals are running scared, and foreigners are being arrested and deported. Organisers of this week's G8 Summit are taking no chances with security. E Jane Dickson reports from a community under siege

Group
Wants Investigation of Police Tactics at Miami Trade Talks
Some groups are questioning the use of force, including pepper spray
and rubber bullets, against protesters at trade talks last week
in Miami. Amnesty International called on Wednesday for an investigation
into police tactics during last week's Free Trade Area of the Americas
meetings here, joining a swelling chorus of complaints that the
police used unwarranted violence to stifle mostly peaceful demonstrators.

Urgent
Action and Article on Police Brutality in Miami
This week thousands of protestors came to Miami to oppose The Free
Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA), an international trade agreement
that aims to expand and extend corporate power throughout the Western
Hemisphere.

The
Empire Strikes Out
Today a globalized corporate empire is menacing the future of the
entire biosphere. We all know that empires are castles made of sand
that always crumble and fade away, but by the time this empire strikes
out, the biological game could be all but over. Corporate globalization
is killing off its host – and ours – mother Earth.

IMF
Confidential: The Secret Documents The Masters Of The Universe Would
Rather You Not See
This document, nominally produced by the World Bank, represents
the interlocking directives of both the Bank and the IMF, as well
as, indirectly, the wishes of both institutions' largest patron,
the United States Treasury Department. Marked "Confidential"
or "Official Use Only," these reports are seldom publicized
to the citizenry bound up in their stipulations. And yet for the
100-plus that rely on IMF and World Bank loans-countries such as
Argentina, Tanzania, Ecuador, Sierra Leone-such agreements serve
as de facto legislation, meticulous in detail and ideological in
thrust. Although couched as loan conditions or as helpful development
advice, these reports more closely resemble the minutes of a financial
coup d'etat....

Iraq
on the auction block
"Most of the Iraqi private sector was put up for sale yesterday."
For that startling bit of news you would have had to read The Times
of London. Almost nobody took notice in the United States when Iraq's
occupation government _ run by U.S.-picked worthies _ enacted laws
allowing foreigners to buy 100 percent of Iraqi's non-energy business
and finance.

The
Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)
The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) is a trade agreement
currently under negotiation that would expand the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to include 31 additional nations in
the Western Hemisphere. This massive expansion is currently being
negotiated without meaningful public or Congressional input. The
FTAA would not only extend the failed policies of the NAFTA which
have eroded living standards, undermined workers rights, devastated
family farms, and empowered corporations to challenge domestic public
interest laws, but could also include new provisions to severely
restrict the ability of federal, state, and local governments throughout
the hemisphere to regulate both public and private services, or
to provide essential public services.

''Corporations
are the main victors in Iraq''
Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator of the Iraqi occupation, made
that clear back in July when he declared that Iraq needs to accept
foreign investment and privatization of its oil before a permanent
government is put in charge of the country. In other words, democracy
is welcome only after the most important economic decisions regarding
the future of Iraqis have been decided for them.

Cancun
Postmortem: What Next for the WTO?
The recent collapse of the WTO’s ministerial meetings in Cancun
was a disaster, a blessing, or something in between, depending on
whom you ask. One thing is certain, the failure of the negotiations
will have a profound impact on future international trade matters.

Taking
Aim
Taking Aim is an integral part of the fight-back of working people
and the oppressed that is central to the survival of civilization.
Once you hear Taking Aim, you will not miss a show, but if you do
...Taking Aim programs are archived on this Internet site, where
they can be listened to online or downloaded in mp3 format to your
computer.

WTO
Beached in Cancun
The WTO was sold to the Congresses and Parliaments of the world
in 1994 as an organization that would establish and enforce global
trade rules, with the goal of liberalizing trade. But those who
read the agreement from the beginning knew that a very different
project was in the works. In fact, it is doubtful that the WTO agreement
could have passed our own Congress, as well as many others, if the
public had been aware of what was being created.

The
WTO Should Take A Look In Cancun’s Back Yard
“They promised tourist development that would help indigenous
people, help the local people and help the poor people. And we noticed
at the beginning of the process that that was lies, that wasn’t
the way it was going to be.” The cruise ships and hotel chains
are all foreign controlled. Tourists buy an all inclusive package,
including arts, crafts, restaurants and fishing excursions.. Foreign
investors now control all development in Cancun. Small businesses
simply cannot survive.

Developing
countries pull out, WTO talks collapse
In a significant victory for the global justice movement, the WTO
Cancun Ministerial meeting has collapsed as delegates from developing
countries called the bluff of the EU and US, and pulled out. The
scene at the convention center where the meetings were being held
was jubilant, and both delegates from developing countries and NGO
representatives are regarding this as a victory for the developing
world.

Rich
and Poor Clash Over Farm Aid
The Group of 21 (G21), which includes China, India and Brazil, has
threatened the traditional dominance of rich countries during world
trade talks in Cancun, Mexico. The G21 is demanding the complete
abolition of subsidies paid by rich countries to their farmers which,
they say, locks the developing world out of international markets.

Living
In a Kleptocrat Nation
The essence of democracy -- our power to control decisions that
affect us -- has steadily and quietly been pilfered by corporate
Kleptocrats. Not only are the Kleptocrats stealing our country from
us, they're stealing our democratic ideals-the very idea of America.
And it's time to take them back.

Bush
Administration to Gut Clean Air Act: Rule Would Allow More Pollution
at 17,000 Facilities
"The Bush administration, using an arbitrary, Enron-like accounting
gimmick, is authorizing massive pollution increases to benefit Bush
campaign contributors at the expense of public health," said
John Walke, director of NRDC's Clean Air Project. "Corporate
polluters will now be able to spew even more harmful chemicals into
our air, regardless of the fact that it will harm millions of Americans."

Mexican
Activists Block GE Maize Coming from US
It's not just a case of double standards - the US administration
continues to ride roughshod over the rights of people around the
world who say no to genetically modified organisms. The latest scientific
analysis shows that one third of US maize entering Mexico is contaminated
with GE varieties from Monsanto. Mexico is the centre of diversity
of maize, one of the world's three most important food crops and
it's at serious risk from GE contamination.

Support
Grows for Maine Dairy Sued by Monsanto
Support is growing for the small family owned Oakhurst Dairy, which
is being sued by the $5 billion Monsanto Company for labeling their
products as rBGH-free. Realizing that the results of the lawsuit
could set a precedent for rBGH labeling on a national scale, dairy
producers, concerned consumers and even Ralph Nader are donating
time and money to the lawsuit. Oakhurst says they have the right
to let their consumers know that there are no artificial growth
hormones in their milk. Monsanto claims consumers shouldn't need
to know whether or not the company's chemicals are in their milk
or not.

Thirst
for profit
For the past few years, the WTO have been trying to expand its snappily
titled General Agreement on Trades in Services (or GATS), whose
“privatise everything!” small print is a wet dream for
corporations. The EU is using GATS to target everything from public
healthcare, welfare, water, energy and transport networks in the
developing world as its new golden goose. Its 109 ‘requests’
for developing countries was a strictly classified document that
got leaked onto the web. But why do they want to keep it a secret?
One of those requests from the EU is that 72 developing countries
make commitments to open up their water supplies to competition.

US
opposes bigger say for poorer countries
The US is trying to block proposals to give poorer countries a bigger
say in World Bank decision-making, dismissing complaints that the
institution is too dominated by rich nations.

US
trying to block World Bank governance reforms
The Bretton Woods Project has learned that the US government is
trying to kill off discussions about reforming the governance structures
of the World Bank. This issue is to be discussed by the Bank Board
on Monday.

C
for capitalism
Can a firm that is so deeply embedded in the iron triangle where
industry, government and the military converge be good for democracy?
Carlyle arguably takes to a new level the military-industrial complex
that President Eisenhower feared might “endanger our liberties
or democratic process”. What red-blooded capitalist can truly
admire a firm built, to a significant degree, on cronyism; surely,
this sort of access capitalism is for ghastly places like Russia,
China or Africa, not the land of the free market?

Photographer
hurt in G8 riot
South London Press photographer Guy Smallman, from Brixton, had
two hours of surgery on his leg following Sunday's incident. Guy
said he was running away when he was hit in the leg by a grenade
that exploded on impact and vlew a fist-sized hole in his leg.

G8
behind the barricades
By a splendid twist of history, this will be the place where the
conqueror of Iraq, George W Bush, will set foot on "enemy"
French soil - or continent for that matter, since in an overwhelmingly
anti-war Europe millions of people bothered to display their displeasure
with US foreign policy during mass demonstrations on February 15.
This is also the first G8 summit in Europe since an Italian police
officer shot dead Italian student Carlo Giuliani during the G8 summit
in Genoa in 2001.

Paying
for Apartheid
Two major lawsuits--filed against multinational corporations for
abetting apartheid--are at a critical juncture.

Here
Comes The Funny Money
The International Monetary Fund [IMF], the World Bank and the U.S.
Federal Reserve System, working in tandem with the United Nations
to ultimately achieve a fluid global economy utilizing a single
global monetary unit, had originally planned to begin dollarizing
the currencies of Central and South America at the end of this year
as a condition for allowing those nations to participate in an expanded
North American Free Trade Agreement [NAFTA].

Fast
food comes to Iraq
Basra: Fastfood giants Pizza Hut and Burger King have set up their
first franchises inside war-torn Iraq, even as many aid convoys
waited on the borders for the war to officially end.

$2.4
Billion Project Already in the Works
GE Capital Structured Finance Group and Bechtel Enterprises, Inc.
have formed a new company to develop, finance, build, own and operate
major pipeline transportation systems throughout the world. In GE
Capital and Bechtel, the new company, PSG International, brings
together one the world's largest infrastructure financing and investment
companies and a global development, engineering, construction and
project management company.

Rumsfeld's
Old FlameEveryone's heard of Vice President Dick Cheney's ties
to Halliburton, a company standing on the brink of a bonanza as
the government doles out post-war reconstruction dollars. But not
enough has been revealed about Bechtel, a reported finalist for
the first round of contracts, and its connections to another of
the war's architects: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. It's a
sordid little tale, and one that calls into question the depth of
Rumsfeld's virtuous claims about his intentions to liberate the
Iraqis.

Top
US firms vie for post-war Iraq contracts
A small group of giant American construction firms are furiously
competing for a $900 million US government contract for the initial
rebuilding of infrastructure that will be shattered by US bombs
and missiles. The battle for the first reconstruction contract is
only a foretaste of a vast plundering of the oil-rich country by
US-based multinationals. This unseemly “scramble for Iraq”
even before the invasion has begun is the clearest indication that
the impending war is not about “weapons of mass destruction,”
terrorism or Saddam Hussein’s regime, but rather about oil,
profits and US economic hegemony in the Middle East and beyond.

US
firms to rebuild Iraq
Five companies have been invited to bid for contracts to put Iraq's
infrastructure back together after a decade of sanctions and the
expected US-led war. Among the five is a subsidiary of Halliburton,
the oil and construction giant run by US Vice President Dick Cheney
for five years till 2000. Aside from Halliburton unit Kellogg Brown
and Root, they include Bechtel, Fluor, Louis Berger and Parsons.
All five are US-owned and headquartered.

Disinfopedia
Main Page
Welcome to Disinfopedia, a collaborative project to produce a directory
of public relations firms, think tanks, industry-funded organizations
and industry-friendly experts that work to influence public opinion
and public policy on behalf of corporations, governments and special
interests.

Promoting
Privatization
An analysis of World Bank lending policies shows that the bank has
increasingly linked aid to privatization.

Privatizing
America's Schools Gone Wrong
The for-profit school administration company Edison Schools Inc.,
reportedly low on cash but with 20 particularly troublesome Philadelphia
high schools to manage, tried to cut some corners in September until
reined in by the school board. According to an October dispatch
in Toronto's Globe and Mail, Edison ran low on cash and (1) had
to send back newly ordered textbooks, computers, lab supplies and
musical instruments; (2) tried to move its Philadelphia executives
out of their downtown offices and into vacant school-system rooms
to save on rent; and (3) suggested to the school board that students
could acquire valuable experience if they were assigned various
work projects (for free) for Edison. The latter two ideas were thwarted
by the school board, but the students were still making do with
old books and equipment.

Victors
and Spoils
There's probably not a single politician or journalist in Washington
who believes that privatizing much of the federal government is
really motivated by a desire to reduce costs.

Chokehold
on Knowledge
Since it's the threat of obscurantism we're hoping to thwart, let's
be blunt: The Bush administration's plan to strip the Government
Printing Office's authority is a threat to democracy. As library
experts have recently pointed out, privatization certainly would
diminish the public's access to information needed to make informed
decisions.

Globalization
casts trafficking shadow
The conference on Globalization, Justice, and the Trafficking
of Women and Children met Friday evening and all day Saturday
to spotlight this issue from legal, political and geographical angles.

Free
Trade Area of the Americas Takes Shape
Trade ministers from the 34 democracies in the Western Hemisphere,
minus Cuba, met in Quito Friday for the latest round of negotiations
on a possible Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). The FTAA would
expand the model of the North American Free Trade Agreement throughout
the region

The
Globalization of Disease
An Ebola outbreak in London, Dengue Fever in Moscow, Malaria sweeping
through Italy, a typhoid epidemic in Portugal or a cholera outbreak
in Madrid are not figments of the Hollywood imagination, but a distinct
possibility.

Don't
Fence Us In
Globalisation, it was said, would break down barriers - of trade,
communication, prosperity. In fact, argues Naomi Klein, it has built
new ones, repressive and alienating. But we can open the windows
- if we know how.

Here's
One That's Just Patently Absurd
The U.S. Patent Office has awarded a patent for software that automates
international commerce. No, you didn't misread that, and no, this
isn't a spoof... It happened, and it might stick. And if it does,
get ready for the creation of federal oversight and compliance agencies
that will make sure that everyone who's ever used, been used by,
forgotten, or ignored a business process will be charged appropriately
for the privilege.

Business
interrupted by downtown protesters
It didn't take long for the anti-globalization folks to make good
on their promise to disrupt business in Washington Friday morning.
Several hundred protesters gathered downtown in Franklin Square
by 7 a.m. to kick off three days worth of opposition to World Bank
and International Monetary Fund lending.

God
and globalization
Many concerns about globalization stem from religious teachings
relating to the repugnancy of greed, wasted or misused economic
power, and disrespect for supportive human relationships. Rather
than the general gains for the worlds poor promised by the
international economic elite, religious critics see agencies such
as the World Bank and IMF forcing developing nations to switch from
traditional food crops to cash crops, forcing protected local or
national markets to open to ravenous transnational markets, and
forcing poorer nations to spend meager public funds to pay down
international debts rather than to build up education and health
care.

Another
Bad Trade Pact
From NAFTA to CAFTA
Under cover of the corporate (and independent) media's obsession
with GW Bush's maniacal 'war on terror,' the US is pursuing new
trade negotiations to expand the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) debacle to Central and South America.

Globalization
Activists Go to Charm School
In a church basement a couple of miles from the citadels of international
finance, opponents of globalization are trying to revive the spirit
of Seattle. An anti-globalization garage band unleashes a sonic
barrage titled "Third World Scene." The Anti-Authoritarian
Babysitters Club offers to keep an eye on infants of the revolution.
Forty or so protest planners stand shoulder to shoulder in a circle
and chant "Si, se puede" over and over. Translation: Yes,
it can be done. Even after Sept. 11.

Globalization,
Alive and Well
If one were having a contest for the most wrongheaded prediction
about the world after 9/11, the winner would be the declaration
by the noted London School of Economics professor John Gray that
9/11 heralded the end of the era of globalization. Not only will
Sept. 11 not be remembered for ending the process of global financial,
trade and technological integration, but it may well be remembered
for bringing some sobriety to the antiglobalization movement.

Globalization,
US Aid & Taxes

US aid pays
for the Caterpillar bulldozers which are destroying Palestinian
homes in the Occupied Territories.

US aid pays
for the Apache helicopters terrorizing Colombian farmers.

The US government
pays for the F16s that regularly bomb Iraqi and Afghan civilians.

The corporations
that build this military hardware are paid with our tax money,
and make huge profits off this human misery.

US military
aid terrorizes and destroys lives, homes, and communities in the
name of peace and stability.

US-controlled
institutions like the IMF and World Bank destroy public healthcare,
education, and utilities, in the name of globalization. These
institutions and the US military are two heads of one system that
protect the power and privilege of a minority of people at the
expense of the majority. Capitalist globalization is expanded
and reinforced with US guns, tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets
so multinational corporations can secure access to cheap labor,
resources, markets, and increase their profits.

WTO
backs EU against U.S. law
Handing down the largest judgment in its history, the World Trade
Organization on Friday authorized the European Union to impose more
than $4 billion in duties against the United States as compensation
for an illegal system of tax breaks.

Who
Owns Water?
As the World Summit on Sustainable Development draws closer, clear
lines of contention are forming, particularly around the future
of the world's freshwater resources. Government and corporate delegates
to the September meeting will gather in the lavish hotels and convention
facilities in the fabulously wealthy Johannesburg suburb that houses
huge estates, English gardens and swimming pools. There, they will
meet with World Bank and World Trade Organization officials to set
the stage for the privatization of water.

A
moment of deep hope
An interview with Vandana Shiva
The phenomenon of violence is the dominant fact of our time. That
then connects further into the vicious circle: a vicious circle
of violence, in which you have a violence of globalization, a denial
of basic needs, usurpation of resources, undermining of democracy.
It gives rise to fundamentalism, exclusion, chauvinism, nationalism
of all kinds, fueling into a politics of diversion, in which the
globalization agenda, which could never have gone through in democratic
forms, is scuttled through, in a way, sneakily.

Kill
the Corporation
For much of the 1990s, those in the know told us the boom was permanent.
So permanent, in fact, that we should transfer money out of old-fashioned
Social Security into the with-it stock market. Then every janitor
and school teacher and cop and hairdresser could get as rich as
people with real money.

V
Is Not for VictoryHow
do you water down what once was little more than a water utility
company? Vivendi Universal (NYSE: V) had ambitious global intentions
once, but now its struggling conglomerate is under water. With big
bets leading to even bigger debts, the French company that grew
to become the world's third-largest media empire is now in a cash
crunch.

Concern
over foreign ownership of key public utility aired in hearing
Wilma Davis was taken aback when she read about plans to sell her
local water company to a multinational conglomerate based in Germany
and operating in many businesses all over the world. Jim Duffield,
expressed concern that the state's abundant water supplies could
be diverted to drier parts of the world.

Water
proposal angers residents
Angry customers packed City Hall on Thursday to speak out against
a proposed 51 percent increase in their water rates. The customers
are fuming about a 33 percent rate increase the district imposed
in to pay for a water tower and well the district has yet to use.
My
water bills are just as high as my electric bills because of the
last increase, said Renee Stockton ... When is this
going to stop?

Utility
trying to milk us
The people of Missouri will work together when they really
need help, but we dont like outsiders coming in and trying
to milk us, he said to applause from the crowd. A crowd of
more than 200 people turned out for a public hearing Thursday night
to voice opposition to a 51-percent rate hike proposed by the Missouri
American Water Co. (a private water supply company)

Jackals
of War
As high level delegations from the U.S. and Britain flew in and
out of New Delhi and Karachi, lobbying for peace. It turns out that
is not all they were lobbying for. With the scent of blood in the
air, the arms jackals have poured into South Asia, sometimes in
the suits of leading government officials hawking weapon sales.

Corporate
Secrecy Oils the Wheels of Poverty
While oil, gas and minerals are by far the largest sources of state
revenue for the world's poorest nations, these resources, which
should help fund development and sustainable economic growth, all
too often turn out to be a curse, leading to increased poverty,
child malnutrition and civil conflict.

Taking
our common wealth and selling it: Stop the Corporate Takeover of
Our WaterThe greater
villains are loose in our world today, literally thirsting to take
things that are yours and minand this time they might make
off with the greatest plunder of all: our water. Yes,
the ideologues and greedheads brought us the fairy tale of energy
deregulation and the Ponzi scheme of Enron are aggressively pushing
for deregulation and privatization of the world's water supplies
and systems. They are determined to turn this essential public resource
into another commodity for traders and speculatorsa private
plaything for personal profiteering.

Trouble
on the Farm
Corporate attacks on family farm activists have increased dramatically
since the Seattle anti-WTO demonstrations in 1999.

What
Are They Doing to Argentina?
Imagine that someone is drowning, and a passerby does nothing to
save him. This would be morally reprehensible. But what if the drowning
man is trying to claw his way onto the shore, and the passerby kicks
him and pushes him back into the river? Very simply, the IMF is
practicing a form of extortion, and a fairly brutal one at that.

Workers
Pay Brutal Price for Cheap Fruit
In the report Tainted Harvest, which was issued last month, Human
Rights Watch slammed the Ecuadorian industry for malpractice, including
child labor. Ian King, senior organizer for the GMB union in Scotland,
said: ' Conditions won't improve if people stop buying Ecuadorian
bananas but it would help if people tell stores they want fruit
that has been produced in accordance with fair practice.

The
Age of Inequality
Here's the latest evidence of the startling growth of income and
wealth inequality, in the United States and around the world

Making
America Truly Safe
Globalization has eroded the geographical and economic barriers
that once shielded the U.S. from the consequences of its foreign
policy. Our new vulnerability was most vividly revealed by the events
of Sept. 11, but we are likely to get occasional reminders in the
days ahead. The U.S. has thwarted democracy, inserted puppet dictators,
smothered human rights and stifled freedom in many of these countries.
Is it any wonder that the seeds of those policies are bearing fruit?

Farm
Bill Outrage Goes Global
The ink was hardly dry on the furious newspaper editorials inspired
by the Bush administration's decision to protect the steel industry
when along comes the Farm Bill to further stoke the fire. The world
is supposed to be moving toward more open markets, embracing liberalization
as the route to globalization--and then the self-appointed leader
of free trade abandons the script. These turnabouts couldn't come
at a worse time, as negotiations to deepen global trade rules at
the World Trade Organization (WTO), just getting started in Geneva,
will now begin with almost every country in the world expressing
disgust with the U.S. retreat behind trade barriers.

Activists
Take New Tack to Promote Human Rights
A few hundred years from now (if our species is still around), people
will look back on our time, note the nearly unchecked power we granted
these entities called corporations, and wonder: What were folks
back then thinking?

U.S.
Exports Misery to Africa
The White House and Congress are trumpeting their determination
to bring economic opportunity to the people of Africa. But first,
a few million sub-Saharan farmers will have to suffer.

Over
100,000 Protest
Some 100,000 anti-globalization demonstrators rallied peacefully
on Sunday, chanting against capitalism and war and dancing to the
beating of drums.

Provision
In Trade Bill Could Cost Taxpayers Billions, According To New Study
Legislation to renew the President's authority to negotiate new
trade agreements could set the stage for unprecedented legal protections
for foreign investors against local, state and federal laws. If
not fixed, the legislation could cost taxpayers $32 billion in monetary
damages and threaten many of our public health and safety laws,
according to a new study released today by Taxpayers for Common
Sense, a national budget watchdog organization.

"The
real menace of our Republic is the invisible government, which
like a giant octopus sprawls its slimy legs over our cities,
states, and nation. At the head is a small group of banking
houses, generally referred to as 'international bankers'.
This little coterie of powerful international bankers virtually
run our government for their own selfish ends."~John
E. Hylan, former mayor of NYC

Corporate
Bribery on the Rise Worldwide
International conventions have not stopped multi-national corporations
from trying to secure valuable contracts by bribing government officials
in the world's emerging economies - especially in the arms and defense,
and public works and construction industries.

Bush
Wins, World's Children Lose at the United Nations
The U.N. General Assembly Special Session on Children, a conference
held to advance the health, education and safety of children everywhere.
One out of five of the world's children has never been to school,
one out of three is malnourished and one out of four is not immunized
against preventable childhood diseases.

What
protectionism fails to protect
Less than two months after the US increased its aid budget from
0.1% to 0.13% of national income, the "new compact for development"
declared at the time by George Bush now looks cynical and empty,
in the light of the farm bill he signed on Monday.

Artificial
societies may make real policy
Agent-based modeling is an emerging computer technology that holds
promise as a powerful tool for analyzing policy problems -- and
experts in the field believe it has the potential to fundamentally
change the way social scientists and economists test theories, examine
data, and create new policies.

Expanding
Free Trade
In order to ram a free-trade bill through the Senate, President
Bush will have to support a Democratic proposal aimed at softening
the impact of trade agreements on workers who lose their jobs.

Coalition
of 135 Groups Voice Opposition to Fast Track08.06.2002
In a letter to the Senate, 135 groups denounced the Baucus / Grassley
Trade Promotion Authority bill, also known as "fast track".
The letter calls on the Senate to instead support international
trade and investment policies that ensure that the benefits of trade
are broadly shared, that the environment is protected, and that
allow ordinary citizens full access to the decision-making process.

Nations
Authorize Regime Change for USA
The Association of Nations Destroyed, Destabilized or Otherwise
Violated by Uncle Sam, or ANDDOVUS, has authorized the ouster of
the current U.S. administration by no later than March 2003. Foreign
ministers of the 123 nations that make up ANDDOVUS met earlier this
week in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where they agreed to appropriate
$42.8 billion for what they termed regime change in the United
States.

United
States Formally Retracts Support of International Criminal Court
Treaty
The NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court, a worldwide
alliance of more than 1,000 civil society organizations and independent
legal experts, expressed its disappointment at the Bush administration
who has formally revoked its support of the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Courtthe first permanent, independent
tribunal capable of trying individuals for crimes against humanity,
war crimes and genocide...

Homeland
security support cools?
Some 300 executives from government, the armed forces and private
industry agreed overwhelmingly at a seminar on homeland security
that the nation's leaders have failed to engage the American people
in the effort to protect against terrorist attack. Foreign governments
often help U.S. security agencies and don't want their role exposed.

Laugh
If You Like, But Don't Ignore the Determination of Today's Protesters
Tthe movement for global equality isn't just about these days of
brief, ineffective chaos. People who see themselves as part of this
movement go on chugging along in other ways, on other days of the
year, in campaigns against, say, privatizing public services or
Third World debt  although we certainly don't get to hear
about their work and their ideas as much as we once did.

G8
Summit in Detroit
The Detroit Police Department stated that they will have 4,000 cops
mobilized on the 2nd and 3rd for the G8 Summit at Hart Plaza in
Detroit. He assumed that we would pulling out a couple thousand
based on the number of cops. Television clips have been shown of
riot cops (basic Robocop uniform -- body armor, gas masks, shields,
batons -- and horses) drilling in an open field and practicing use
of tear gas.

Power
to the people
The May Day demonstration, like those at Seattle and Quebec, is
not about smashing capitalism, but about demanding a say in the
future of the planet, says Kevin Danaher, the American writer
and architect of a growing New Protest movement.

Fearsome
reputation of the Italian police
The controversial operation by Italian police against the headquarters
of the anti-globalisation protester at the G8 summit in Genoa was
a joint operation between the state police and the military police,
the carabinieri.

World
inequality
Against the backdrop of anti-globalisation protests at the G8 summit
in Genoa, BBC News Online examines the facts about the world economy
and the gap between rich and poor.

'You
could sense the venom and hatred'
The riots on the streets of Genoa were the worst violence seen in
Europe for decades. But the secret 'torture' of Britons in police
cells was even more horrific. The truth is finally emerging.

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